Misal Pav Recipe | How to make Misal Pav [Video]

Misal Pav Recipe. This video shows how to make popular Maharashtrian spicy vegan curry called Misal. Misal is a curry made with sprouts and coconut that is topped with Sev or Mixture and served with Pav.

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Bangalore has the weirdest weather of all places I've been to. It can be bright and sunny one day and pouring cats and dogs the next. We ran through October like it was Summer, barely a hint of chill in the air and the Sun was all powered on. And then we got loads of rain, just when I was ready to get those light trousers and leather footwear out !!  Finally, since mid-November, the chill has been setting in and it feels like Winter, at least in the evenings. The days are still as hot as Summer.

When it's cold outside, I want to stay cozy inside and eat warm spicy curries while lazily watching reruns of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. And this Misal Pav totally fits the bill. It is spicy, hearty and best of all, you can top it up with awesome crunchy things.

When I think of Misal Pav, it takes me back to my college days. Thursday night dinner in hostel was Misal Pav and it was actually horrible. If one were to eat that Misal Pav, one would never ever dare to eat one again. I don't know how the cooks in the hostel mess could mess up something so simple, but they managed to put up an unappetizing dish in the name of Misal Pav. It was only when I ate Misal Pav in a Maharashtrian restaurant that I came to appreciate the flavor and texture of this spicy vegan affair.

Misal pav is a simple yet complex dish. It is simple to cook, but the flavors are complex, the textures are complex. Misal consists of 3 main things:

• Usal - Usal is a quick curry made from sprouts. Sprouts are boiled with turmeric, salt and a little bit of asafoetida. You can add other spices to usal when you want to have it plain, but when you are cooking usal for Misal Pav, it is best to keep it simple. Generally, moth bean sprouts or matki sprouts are used for Misal Pav, but if you don't have moth beans, just use mung beans or any other sprouts that you can.
• Kat - The spicy coconut based curry that dominates the flavor of Misal Pav is called the Kat. Kat is made by grinding together spices, coconut, onion and tomatoes and boiling them until the flavor develops. I have used Kokum as the souring agent in the Kat, you can use tamarind pulp instead. Kokum helps in giving a darker color to the Kat, that you may miss if you use tamarind. If you have access to Misal masala powder, then you can use that instead of the whole spices I have used.
• Sev/Mixture/Farsan - This is the fun part of Misal Pav. Misal is always topped with crunchy spicy mixture. You can use any topping of your choice - papdi, ghatia, sev, chiwda etc. The more you add, the better it tastes. Only thing to remember is to add this at the end, while serving, else your mixture will get soggy and loose its texture and flavor.

Serve Misal with toasted Pav or regular bread. And always serve it piping hot!!

If you made this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment here or on Facebook,  tag your tweet with @oneteaspoonlife on Twitter and don't forget to tag your photo #oneteaspoonoflife on Instagram. You can also email me at onetspoflife@gmail.com I'd love to see what you are upto.

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Video Recipe

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Misal Pav Recipe | How to make Misal Pav

Misal is a popular spicy vegan Maharashtrian curry that is served with Pav bread. Misal is made with sprouts and coconut and is topped with Sev or Mixture.

Recipe Type:  Curry
Cuisine:            Maharashtrian, Indian
Prep Time:     15 minutes
Cook time:     45 minutes
Total time:     60 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

For the Usal:

2 cups Sprouts
2 Tbsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard Seeds
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)
Salt to taste
Water as required

For the Kat:

1 large Onion
1 large Tomato
0.5 cup grated Coconut
2 Tbsp Oil
1 Clove
1" Cinnamon
0.5 tsp Pepper
1-2 Bay leaves
1 tsp Coriander Powder
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 Tbsp chopped Garlic
1 Tbsp chopped Ginger
2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
0.5 tsp Turmeric Powder
3-4 Kokum peels or 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
1-2 cups Water
Salt to taste

To assemble the Misal:

1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Tomato, finely chopped
2 cups Sev or Mixture
0.5 cups Coriander leaves, finely chopped

Method:

To make the Usal:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds.
2. After the mustard seeds splutter, add the sprouts, turmeric powder, salt, asafoetida (hing) and 1 cup water. Cover and cook until the sprouts are cooked.
3. Grind the clove, cinnamon, pepper, ginger, garlic, coriander powder and cumin powder into a coarse masala without any water.

To make the Kat:

4. Soak the kokum peels in 0.5 cup warm water and keep aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan and add the coarsely ground masala.
6. Saute the masala until fragrant, then add chopped onion.
7. Once the onions are slightly browned, add in chopped tomato and grated coconut.
8. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then grind everything to a smooth paste with a little water.
9. Pour back the masala into the pan.
10. Add in turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, soaked kokum peels or tamarind pulp and 1 cup water. You can remove the kokum peels after a while if the gravy has reached the sourness you desire.
11. Allow it to come to a boil and let it boil for 8-10 minutes.
12. Adjust seasoning if required. Add more water for a looser consistency. If you want a thicker consistency, boil it longer.

To assemble the Misal Pav:

13. To serve the Misal Pav, add the usal in a bowl.
14. Pour over the spicy kat.
15. Top with finely chopped onion, tomatoes and coriander leaves.
16. Top with sev or mixture and serve with toasted pav.

If you liked this, you may also like:

Goan Pao Bhaji

Bombay Pav Bhaji

Tawa Pulao

Read more ...

Healthy Millet Salad

This Healthy Millet Salad is made from Foxtail Millet, kidney beans, sprouts and mix vegetables. It is very healthy, very tasty and very filling. 

You go to the supermarket and are immediately drawn to the shelf that holds these exotic ingredients that you've only heard of but never eaten. It looks nice in it's classy looking packaging. You start remembering that recipe you saw on TV or that food photo that featured in the Magazine, wondering which of them should you cook. You glance at the price, and that wonderful dream of cooking with something exotic just evaporates. Smile replaced by shock. Deja vu, anyone?

I replay this scene everytime I go to stores like FoodHall or Godrej Nature's Basket. And sometimes I do it knowing that it will be an anti-climax. By now I know I will never buy Quinoa because of it's insane cost. Quinoa is being touted as THE superfood. High in protein, not high in calories, it's kind of  a win-win for those who can access it easily.

Quinoa is not Indian. Although, recently, some farmers are toying with the idea of growing Quinoa, it is still not popular enough to replace any of our ancient grains and seeds.

I use Millet instead. India has been the home of millet for centuries. Millets are just as rich as Quinoa. It is rich in fibre and magnesium. It has a low glycemic index and is a rich source of protein. And it is very light on your pocket. In short, millet is affordable super food that are easily available anywhere.

There are various types of Millet:

• Pearl Millet or Bajra
• Foxtail Millet or Navane
• Finger Millet or Ragi
• Sorghum Millet or Jowar

There are so many more, but these are the famous ones.

Let's  get back to this super tasty and healthy Foxtail Millet Salad. I've had it two days in a row and I just cannot have enough of it !!! 

This is a super simple salad. The dressing is made with just Olive oil, lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Everything you already have at home, so there is no excuse to skip making it. Use any oil you like if you have run out of Olive Oil.

Now, usually, I say that there are things that are optional in a recipe. But in this one, the beans are definitely not optional. They are one the major building blocks of this salad. I really don't believe this salad will taste as good if you skip them. Also really needed are the fresh ingredients - tomatoes, cucumbers and mint. Everything else in the salad can either be skipped or replaced. You can substitute the coriander with parsley. Skip the sprouts if you don't have any. I personally like the light sweetness of the carrots in the salad and would recommend keeping it in there.

This salad was pretty filling due to all the protein in it and the slowly digesting millet. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

If you liked this, you may also like:

• Kabuli Chana Chaat or Chickpea Salad - Street side style salad made with chickpeas, tomatoes, onions and spices. Hot and Tangy - explosive on your taste buds.
• Radish Salad - Fresh salad made from finely chopped radish or daikon (mooli) and it's leaves.

Healthy Millet Salad

Healthy salad made with mixed vegetables, beans, sprouts and Foxtail Millet. 

Recipe Type:  Salad
Cuisine:            Indian
Prep Time:     30 minutes
Cook time:     30 minutes
Yield:                Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Foxtail Millet or  Navane
1 cup cooked Red Kidney Beans or Rajma
1/4 cup Sprouts
2 ripe Tomatoes
1 small Cucumber
1/2 Carrot
1/2 Capsicum
Handful Coriander leaves
Handful Mint leaves
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
2-3 tsp Lime Juice
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Water

Method:

Wash and soak the millet for 30 minutes.
Drain the millet and pressure cook it with 1/2 cup water until done. In a pressure cooker it takes around 1 whistle or 4-5 minutes after the pressure builds up.
If not using a pressure cooker, cook it the same way you would cook rice.
Allow the millet to cool to room temperature.
Finely chop the tomatoes, cucumber, carrot and capsicum and add to the millet.
Add the red kidney beans and the sprouts to the millet.
Roughly chop the coriander and mint leaves and add to the millet.
In a small bowl, mix olive oil, honey, lime juice, salt and pepper until completely blended.
Pour the dressing over the millet and vegetable mixture and mix well.
Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Read more ...

Matki Usal

Matki or Moth beans are look very similar to moong beans but are brown in colour and are slightly smaller in size. They are a high source of protein and as most beans, very low in calories. I usually use these to make Misal, but on days I have less time, I am content with just the usal. You can make the same recipe with sprouted moong beans too...

Matki Usal

Maharastrian curry made with sprouted moth beans and fresh coconut.

Recipe Type:  Main Course
Cuisine:          Indian / Maharastrian
Prep Time:     15 minutes (Does not include sprouting time)
Cook time:     45 minutes
Yield:              3-4 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup dried or 2 cups sprouted Matki beans / Moth beans
1 Onion
1 Tomato
2-3 Green chillies
5-6 Curry leaves
A handful of Coriander leaves
3 tbsp desiccated Coconut
3 tsp Oil
1 tsp Mustard seeds
Salt
Water
Method:

• To sprout the beans yourself, soak in matki beans in 2 cups of water overnight
• Next morning, drain out the water from the container and cover the container with a steel plate and allow to rest in a warm place for 2 days or until the beans sprout.
• Alternatively, you can also tie the beans in a muslin cloth and allow them to sprout.
• Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds.
• Once they splutter, add the curry leaves, slit green chillies and chopped onions
• Fry until the onions are done
• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until they are done
• Add the sprouts and enough water to cover them
• Add salt and cover and cook until the beans are done.
• Keep checking the beans, if it feels dry and the beans aren't done, then add more water and cover and cook longer. If the beans are done, and there is excess water, then remove the lid and cook on high flame until the water evaporates. This can take anywhere between 20-30 mins to cook.
• Once the beans are done, garnish with desiccated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with chapati

Read more ...

Bean sprouts salad

Abroad, salads now form a part of every meal almost. People are getting conscious of their eating habits. For us in India, salad generally means kosambri/ Koshimbir, raita or cut veggies like carrot, tomato, cucumber etc. The same salad on daily basis gets boring. So I keep searching for different
types of salad recipes. On sunday, I was very excited to find bean sprouts in my veggie store. I think you can make this at home too, but I've never tried to get the sprouts to grow so thick. Anyway, it was very cheap and I remembered a yummy bean sprout salad I had in a restaurant buffet. Although I don't know their exact recipe, I decided to try something out. The try was successful, and gave us a tasty salad for dinner...

Ingredients:

Bean sprouts - 2 cups
Capsicum - 1/2 (Optional)
Coriander leaves - a handful
Baby spinach - a handful (Optional)
Sunflower seeds/ Peanuts/ Pinenuts - 2 tbsp (Optional)

For dressing:

Garlic - 1 clove
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tsp
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Honey - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Onion powder - 1/2 tsp (Optional)
Pepper powder- 1 tsp
Celery salt (Can use regular salt, I used this as I had it)

Method:

Wash and drain the bean sprouts
Cut the capsicum into fine juliennes and add to bean sprouts
Finely chop the coriander and the baby spinach and add to the bean sprouts.
Roast the sunflower seeds in a pan for 1-2 minutes, until they turn a light brown and keep aside to be added later. You may use any nuts like peanuts, pinenuts, almonds or skip nuts altogether
For the dressing, heat the olive oil in a pan and fry finely chopped garlic in it until the garlic turns brown.
Pour out the oil into a bowl and add the dark soy sauce, lime juice, salt, sugar, honey, onion powder and pepper powder.
I used dark soy sauce because that was what I had. Any soy sauce can be used.
I used sugar along with the honey because the honey did not cut through the acidity of the dressing up to my liking. You can skip the sugar and increase the amount of honey or reduce the amount of lime juice. The dressing should have a mild sweet taste without being overpowering.
Mix the dressing well.
Spoon the dressing on the salad and add the sunflower seeds on top.

Read more ...